


Closing the case

by vanillashampoo



Category: Psych (TV 2006)
Genre: Carlton Lassiter in Denial, F/M, Gen, Introspection, POV Carlton Lassiter, Partners to Lovers, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:14:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25379725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillashampoo/pseuds/vanillashampoo
Summary: Season 5 finale and onwards: an introspection of Carlton discovering Juliet and Spencer's relationship and how it - heaven help him - made him feel.
Relationships: Carlton Lassiter & Juliet O'Hara, Carlton Lassiter/Juliet O'Hara
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing, only crippling student debts. Psych and its character are not mine, otherwise I'd have ensured Lassiter ended up with O'Hara.

Closing the Yin-case gave a feeling of elation. It was the sense of justice prevailing that gave Lassiter his high every time a case was closed, be it the closing of a case on a serial killer or catching some punk kids shoplifting bubble gum. The fact that he subsequently felt elated, indifferent and then hungry after closing the Yin-case was normal for him. McNabb calling him a robot because of his lack of empathy was nothing to report on either. Far from it: his ex-wife had hissed this to him on several occasions. Detective Lassiter prided himself on the name.

The shake of his head was the only physical discomfort the case gave him and he would be damned sure no one would ever see him do it. He _did_ have an image to uphold. ‘Robot’ was no misnomer: Carlton was never startled, confused or otherwise overruled by base emotions. It would take more than a serial killer for _that_ to happen. However, he knew his partner would not be able to shrug this off as quickly. Her _vacation_ last year had made Lassiter realise with extreme clarity that his partner was more sensitive than she looked. The smell of coffee lured him to the kitchen, after which he set out to look for her.

Whilst Lassiter was walking past Juliet’s empty desk, he mused on his feelings – or lack thereof. He knew his stance on empathy differed from most of his colleagues and the general population. It got the job done though, and justice was all that mattered. Early on in his career, Lassiter had decided that empathy was for the weak. Emotions would only get in the way of detecting the truth of the matter. After grimacing when he read ‘Caught you looking at my bottom’ in the empty coffee mug, Lassiter spotted Juliet.

As he was staring into the interrogation room where his partner was kissing Spencer, the thought that he had befuddled the truth about Spencer and Juliet couldn’t even occur to him. The robot was startled, confused and otherwise overruled by emotions. He couldn’t process this. He could only stand there, wide-eyed, gazing as the pair kissed as casually as if they had done so a thousand times already. His partner, apparently, was his blind spot.

Lassiter realised that Juliet would have no need for any offer of help from him. The assistance he had given on the clock tower was long replaced by the expectation of Spencer’s _pancakes._ Baffled, he left the room whilst scratching his head with the coffee mug still in his hand. He would only realise what he was doing after a longer time than he was willing to admit.

It would take more than a serial killer to make Detective Carlton Lassiter become unbalanced. His partner being with Spencer – _kissing_ Spencer – did the trick.


	2. Introspection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still don't own anything.

Carlton pushed the throttle, driving on auto-pilot until he put the key in his front door lock. After choosing to eat some left-over lasagne, giving a look of disgust to the innocent pancakes that were in the fridge as well, he questioned his reason for feeling, full stop. He realised that something had happened to make him, God forbid, feel, but he could not make head or tails of it.

Lassiter did not indulge in alcohol often. It came with the territory of always being on call, as well as a the multiple examples of colleagues drinking their life and career away. However, as the chief had ordered him to rest up, he surmised that he could open the bottle of Talisker Storm for once, carefully measuring out the amount in his tumbler. After the first nip, he still felt the sense of unrest, or perhaps disgust or shock. He didn’t even know what he felt, only that his stomach did a shockingly accurate impression of a stone. Two nips later, the feeling hadn’t subsided.

Distance was needed, he concluded, and he surmised that he should treat this as if it was any other case. He closed his eyes with a sigh whilst putting his feet up on the couch as well. A clinical analysis had to be conducted and, he posited, he had to question himself as if he was getting a statement from a witness.

So, he asked himself, when did you feel startled? Lassiter thought for a few seconds, trying to pinpoint the exact moment, and then stated that it was the moment he saw Spencer kiss his partner.

And why did this startle you? The answer was immediate. Because it is Spencer, he thought, getting agitated merely from recalling the memory. Spencer’s so-called psychic powers, showboating and blatant disrespect for serious police work alone made him rise to the top five of my crap-list.

“And it would have been okay if it had been any other guy?”

This was a question Lassiter had no answer to, leaving him flustered – a word he would have never used to describe himself before, so he started his questioning anew.

When did you feel startled? Reframing what he had seen, he thought to himself that it was the moment he saw his partner accept Spencer’s kiss. He felt the same agitation as before. Shock was there as well, and further introspection would have shown him that the undercurrent was glumness.

So, he questioned his self, why did this startle you?

If there was an answer to this question, he just as quickly banned it from his mind. Silence ruled in Lassiter’s mind. The fact that he had completely missed or unconsciously ignored the relationship between Spencer and Juliet was, perhaps, too much to bear for him. Whether this was because of his ego as a detective or something else, he simply didn’t want to explore it anymore.

Forgoing a refill of the long-empty tumbler and instead grabbing himself a glass of cold ice tea, he decided that it was all because of Spencer that he felt these things. The idiot would just as easily corrupt his partner and lead her astray from correct policing, as well as cause a weakening of the ties between Juliet and him as a team. This could not happen, and though he had no idea how, he would make sure of it. Lassiter was at ease once more. A marathon-rerun of ‘The A-Team’ was good enough to divert Lassiter’s attention away from his troubled mind and he settled in for an evening of plans coming together.


	3. Distrust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Season 6, episode 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing related to Psych, or anything at all, for that matter.

Carlton woke up at 6 AM and went for his morning run. He realised, while pacing his run on an easy tempo, that protecting Juliet had become second nature for him. Spencer and his fickleness were a threat to her. Some might think she was like a little sister to him, but Lewis, his actual little sister, would disagree if someone were to ask. Carlton himself couldn’t see the comparison either, as the partnership between him and Juliet surpassed any bond of siblings. He had to be able to put his life in Juliet’s hands, and vice versa. He would never trust his siblings to such an extent.

The morning light helped to clear his mind further and he realised that he needed more answers than his own mind could give him. After taking a quick ice-cold shower and putting on his suit, he grabbed a disappointing breakfast from the nearest café and went to the station. The answers he sought wouldn’t come easy, he knew this. Subtlety was never his forte though and when he saw a lie-detector on the table, a plan was formed. Juliet came by to check on him soon enough and after carefully hooking her up to the machine – trying with all his might to not touch her more than necessary – he asked his questions.

“What is your name?”, he asked.

Juliet responded as expected. When he kept looking at her, she added “O’ Hara” with a twinge of doubt in her voice.

Carlton had his baseline and convinced Juliet to stay for a bit longer. He proceeded.

“One more... just one more question. Are you... What's a good question?”, he asked himself, thinking out loud. “I got one”, he said, “are you currently dating anyone?”

When she didn’t answer, he said: “Answer anytime you like.” When silence ensued, he looked down at the polygraph results and continued: “I see you're experiencing some stress. It's just a control question. You and I both know you're not dating anyone, right? So simply answer truthfully, and we'll know the machine is working properly like you say it is." The only sound in the room was the scratching of the polygraph. Carlton filled the silence saying "Unless, of course, you _are_ dating somebody and want to tell me about it.”  
  
Juliet was starting to get annoyed and questioned what Carlton was getting at. Becoming agitated in turn, Carlton let his distrust seep into his voice.

“Nothing. I'm simply testing a potentially defective piece of machinery, and since _partners_ don't lie or keep secrets from each other because we put our lives in each other's hands. I'm asking a question I _believe_ I know the answer to. Are you currently or have you ever been in a relationship with anyone at the station?”

It all went downhill from there on out. Juliet refused to say anything, the distrust and irritation he felt becoming the tenor for their partnership. The chief refused his request for a change of partners. He was unable to have a normal interaction with Juliet at all throughout the case of the murder in the diplomat’s house, especially when she finally admitted her relationship with Spencer as if she had any reason at all to be angry with _him_ , her partner. She was effectively breaking their partnership, choosing Spencer’s side over his continuously.

The annoyance he felt was building, even more so when in the vicinity of Spencer. It went through the roof when Spencer was somehow able to beat the polygraph test. Carlton frowned so much after this occurrence, that the wrinkles in his forehead would be edged in there for a while.

When the case was closed, it became clear for Carlton that a signal had to be sent. He took Spencer aside in the interrogation room with the polygraph test in it. The “psychic” started to protest, questioning the use of ‘doing this again’ but stopped when he was not the one getting hooked up to the machine. Carlton knew he could’ve said what he wanted to say without the piece of machinery but he also had a flair for the dramatic. Moreover, there was a desperate need to drive his point home, leaving no shadow of a doubt regarding his sincerity. He took the time to get his temper under control and began talking. 

“I've known you for six years, Spencer. I know your act. You do your little dance, you beat polygraph machines. You always manage to guess the right culprit after missing the first four or five times. You whip that hair around and fall over every reasonable girl that Guster hasn't unsuccessfully hit on already. And now you've made your way to O'Hara.”

Spencer wanted to protest against this, but Carlton stopped him from gaining momentum. “When I first met you, you outed my relationship with my former partner, a girl I really liked, by the way. Got her transferred. That doesn't matter now. My point is...” and he took a moment to look Spencer in the eyes and continue with a clear and sincere voice. “If you don't treat O'Hara with the respect she deserves or if you hurt her in any way, I will discharge my pistol.”

Apparently, Spencer couldn’t understand this basic message as he asked: “You're saying you'll shoot me?”

An eye-roll would’ve been appropriate here, but Carlton withheld it and gave a simple answer.

“Repeatedly.”

Spencer nodded and scurried away after that.

No, Carlton thought, he didn’t perceive Juliet as a little sister. She was his _partner_ , his to protect and to be protected by, and that was the long and short of it. Having given his promise to Spencer, he unhooked himself and went out to finish up his statement. This is what a good partner would do, right?


	4. Deviation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've started to deviate from the episodes. Carlton and Juliet solve a crime together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing, except two kites (a 7 and a 10), a board, a wetsuit, a bar (non-alcoholic), a harness, and an air-pump. Psych is not mine. I just think Lassiter would be a kiter, okay!

As night turned into day, Carlton began to understand the truth: he had to remove Marlowe from his life. She was a convicted felon and though not as crazy as her brother, she was bad news for him and his career. Moreover, the moment he put his handcuffs on her wrists, his extreme sense of right and wrong ensured that the small flame of infatuation he had for her was sniffed out.

He felt alright with this conclusion of events.

Life at work had returned to whatever sense of normalcy there was. He still disliked Spencer’s methods and behaviour as before, but the partnership Carlton had with Juliet had reverted to what it was before. Carlton was at ease and though he hardly thought Spencer was worthy of Juliet’s affections and attention, he respected her decision.

Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months. There was a small number of cases where the insight of Spencer and Guster was called in, graining on his mental balance and nerves, but the majority were cases which Carlton closed alongside Juliet. He liked those best.

When Carlton stepped into the shipping container-turned-office, he internally questioned the appeal of the sport. It was a simple enough case: multiple boards and kites were stolen. The thing with these kites and boards, Carlton surmised with a grin, is that they’re big and not easy to carry inconspicuously. A car must have been used to transport it all away. He couldn’t spot any cameras inside that might give some clues, but he reasoned the neighbouring beach café titled ‘The Pink Flamingo’ might have.

“McNabb can wrap up the survey of what is missing. The Pink Flamingo has camera-surveillance. Let’s go check it out”. Juliet said, walking towards the café before he could even open his mouth to give the suggestion.

“And how do you know this, O’ Hara?”, he asked with a frown, while jogging towards her to catch up.

“I guess it’s an occupational hazard”, she said with a grin. “I took surfing-lessons nearby this place when I transferred here. Liked the drinks afterwards better. Don’t tell me you don’t check out the place you’re drinking or eating for cameras and exits.”

Carlton couldn’t deny this, as he would go a step further and would sit in a corner or with his back against a wall whenever possible as well.

When they arrived at the Pink Flamingo, the manager showed them the camera-feed and Juliet shuffled closer to the controls to search for any clues. The slightest scent of peaches drifted towards Carlton. This was something he had had to adjust to at the beginning of their partnership as being a part of Juliet. He now found it to be calming scent. He guessed he had warmed up to it.

“Well, there a clue if you’ve ever seen one”, Juliet stated while writing down the number plate of the van that was clearly being loaded with surfing gear. The perp was clearly visible on the Flamingo’s camera. 

It was as easy as pie after this. The van was registered to a disgruntled employee of the surf school. Apparently, sloppy gear maintenance can be lethal in kite surfing as well and the employee wasn’t quite aware of this yet. According to the owner, the cause of police being there due to a robbery was better than a surfer dying due to negligence. Carlton agreed to the sentiment and, as the owner was thankful for the quick recovery of his gear, he accepted the offer of a free try-out of kite surfing. His therapist had advised him to try out a new sport or hobby, and this would fit the bill. Juliet wasn’t averse to the free try-out either.

Disliking bonding-exercises or bonding, full stop, Carlton first thought was to retract his acceptance of the proposal. His second thought was that if he could not-hate and survive tap-dancing with Guster, he sure as hell could not-hate or perhaps even _like_ kite surfing with his partner. 


	5. Fresh breezes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't own anything, and certainly not Psych.

The sun was going down on Santa Barbara’s beach once more, and Carlton watched it with a clear mind. Kite surfing was awesome, he had concluded after the try-out lesson. Whether it was the lack of noise in his head, feeling focused without being stressed or the feeling of wind and water surrounding him while still being in control, Carlton was hooked. And the best part was that Juliet was hooked as well.

Yes, kite surfing was awesome, but kite surfing with Juliet was even better. The friendly spirit of wanting to one-up the other made it even better for the pair. Carlton had developed control over the kite quicker than her, but Juliet was able to learn how to balance faster than him. It didn’t take long before the surf school and the Pink Flamingo became places where Carlton and Juliet would go to – together or on their own – after they finished their shifts at the police station.

“How is the wind today, Carlton?”

“Not worth the effort”, he responded while spraying down his board. “Besides, it’s turning offshore so unless you want to get blown out to the Pacific, I’d not venture out anymore.”

Juliet looked out to the ocean at that. Shawn had been confused about her enthusiasm of 'spending more time with Carlton' as he would call it, but he eventually understood her need for having ‘me-time’. Kite surfing gave her a sense of freedom, even more so than sitting behind Shawn on his motorbike. It was only her, the wind and the sea out there. She could forget the kidnapping of a little girl that they managed to safe only in the nick of time. She could forget about her time on the clock tower and the fears that it had given her. She could forget all the trouble and misery of the days and just _be_.

Shawn understood why she needed this hobby, and vice versa she knew that it gave him the time and reason for following wushu-lessons with Gus.

She shifted her gaze back to her partner who was now spraying the sand off of his kite. Being out on the ocean nearly every day had lessened his trigger-happy demeanour. Which is to say that he still pulled his gun more often than Juliet deemed necessary if her eye-rolls and screaming of his name were anything to go by, but it did seem to her that he was annoyed less quickly. He still wore suits and suits exclusively, he wouldn’t be caught dead wearing flip-flops, and the one time someone called him ‘bro’, he had sent a glare so hard that no one had ever tried again. However, Juliet thought while smiling due to the memory, he had grown from her partner to her best friend in these months of surfing together, and the feeling was mutual. They both knew without uttering the words.

“Not intending on visiting Hawai’i today, to be honest. Wanna grab dinner at the Flamingo?”

Carlton didn’t hesitate in agreeing. When he got home and put away all his gear, he dived into bed. His nights had never been as sound as these past few months, he thought before his eyes closed. Just as he falls asleep, the phone rings.


End file.
